Thursday, March 12, 2009

What a week!--part 1

Introducing: TATE BARBEN

Born: March 4, 2009 at 2:44 p.m.

Weight: 8 lbs. 11 oz.

Length: 21.5 inches

As Jake says, "We caught the Tater!" Wednesday morning at 7:15 a.m. I went in to be induced to have our baby boy. My doctor came in, broke my water and we were on our way. Things were going very well, I dilated quickly, was very comfortable during my contractions, and besides some slight nausea with the pain medication, we were excited that my labor this time with Tate was seemingly going to be short and sweet......little did we know the change of events that would occur.

When I was dilated to a 9, they called my doctor and I was getting ready to push. My doctor arrived and was observing the baby's heart monitor and asked the nurse if that was the fetal heart rate or the maternal heart rate, and the nurse wasn't quite sure. Immediately I saw the concern on my OB's face and she said, "Let's get going." Apparently the baby's heart rate was dipping so I then proceeded to push as hard as I could while I continued to observe the looks on Jake's and my doctor's face. I tried pushing a few times, and then they pulled out the vacuum and I pushed with that to try to get the baby out, then they had 2 nurses pushing on my belly, used the vacuum, and me pushing to try to get him out, one of the last things my doctor said was "Push sweetie, like you don't want a C-section." Well no matter how hard we tried we couldn't get Tate out, and his heart rate by this time was dropping, so in a matter of seconds, they prepped me for a C-section. The nurse anesthetist pumped my epidural line with one last shot, unhooked me, and he and another nurse wheeled me to the OR. They tossed Jake a bag of surgical covers to put over his clothes and said they would be back to get him.

When I got to the OR, they immediately reclined me back and put the sheet up in front of my face, which I assume was so they could immediately sanitize the area, right after they reclined me I started feeling nauseous and began puking over the side of the table onto the OR floor. (Glamorous I know) I immediately felt tugging and said to someone "Will someone go get my husband." The nurse replied, "On my way" then Jake came in and sat on a stool next to my head. Because of the surgical garb Jake was wearing the only thing I could see were his eyes, and just by looking at him I could tell he was concerned. He was holding my hand and kept stroking it, then I heard the doctor say, "Here he is!" I heard Tate whimper a little, and then I said to Jake, "Is he ok?" I could tell by Jake's eyes that the baby was ok which was a relief. I next heard the doctor talking about "sutures" so I knew that they were sewing me back up, and the next thing I know I am waking up in my labor and delivery room and I can see my doctor and Jake standing at the foot of my bed. Jake is holding the baby and says, "Here he is honey, do you want to hold him?" I don't even know if I replied back to him, I was so drugged that I could barely keep my eyes open. The next few hours were a blur because I kept going in and out of sleep, with family coming in and out to see how I was.

Around 6:00 p.m. they moved me over to post partum, and I started feeling a little better. Come to find out the major reason I couldn't push Tate out is because he had a ginormous cranium of 37 cm, and was facing posterior (face up) but the major reason for the C-section was because of Tate's dropping heart rate. So apparently I like going through labor so much that I thought I would try both kinds this time, vaginal and C-section. Although the recuperation hasn't been fun, I am so grateful we were able to get Tate out and everything was relatively OK.

Because everything happened so quickly and was kind of a blur, it was interesting to get Jake's perspective on what happened. Here is what he had to say in an email to his friends about the delivery:

"We have welcomed a new little guy into our family after a scary turn of events last night. My wife and I were joking around in the labor and delivery room that the second time around has been so much easier than the first, and wouldn't you know it we jinxed ourselves. While delivering, the baby became lodged in the birth canal “sunny side up.” Meaning he was looking towards the sun…a bad deal. To make matters worse his heart rate suddenly dropped to a drastically low rate causing a panic in the labor and delivery room. What followed after that was chaos. Doctors were stripping tubes and IV’s from my wife, they threw an OR gown at me and told me to get dressed and just like that they were running down the hall with my wife. Can you say, “WHAT IN THE WORLD IS GOING ON?????”I stood there in the labor and delivery room for what seemed like an hour, although it was probably only a few minutes. When they finally came to get me we pretty much ran down the hall towards the Operating Room. I turned the corner and there I saw two doctors on top of my wife jerking, pulling, shaking, and tugging to get the baby lose from the canal. I never knew child birth could be so violent! I didn’t tell my wife this but it reminded me of the end of the movie “Braveheart” when they were torturing William Wallace. Nothing worse than being in the unknown, my only gauge for the seriousness of the situation was the look on our doctor’s face and the frantic nature in which she worked to free the baby.Despite the unexpected and dramatic first few minutes of his life, surprisingly he is doing great! My wife is fine too thank-goodness! The doctor told me later that she was very worried for a few minutes and my response was, “I work in sales and have learned to read facial expressions pretty good, your facial expression told me everything I needed to know!” It was wild!"

Little did we know that the delivery was just the beginning with our adventure with Tate. I will post Part 2--Tate in the NICU to give more details.

15 comments:

Oh, wow Allison. That is all I can really think to say! I am glad to hear that everything worked out. Tate sure is darling. If he hasn't come home by now, I hope he comes home soon. Please let me know if you need anything.

Al- Wow! What a story! Now you can be one of the ones with the birthing horror story to share at Relief Society functions! Logan was an emergency C-Section and it can be VERY scary! I think we went from Labor and Delivery to having the baby out in about 2 minutes - CRAZY!!! I didn't know you had to do the NICU! We've done that, too - That is rough! I hope things are OK now! Is your little guy home? Let me know if I can help or if you need anything! Hopefully we can get together again soon! Any baby for Marci???

The NICU is a great healing place. I feel grateful to so many nurses who know what they are doing and are so wonderful. 100 years ago, BOTH our babies would have died. So, sorry to hear you had a baby horror story but at least it has a happy ending. Baby Tate is so adorable and so precious. Congratulations you guys. I am so happy for you. Sorry about the csection Allison. You are such a trooper.

Keep us updated and PLEASE dont let so many days go by without posting! :)

Al! That is my story with Carter...ok not exactly, but almost! I am so glad that everything is ok and you are both well. He is beautiful. Congratulations! :) I would like to bring you dinner...it's hard enough just having them normally but I know how hard it is with two after having a csection! I will call you. HAng in there! Can't wait to hear the rest of the story. Love ya girl!

Wow! Scary, I'm glad you and little Tate are ok. Kade was in the NICU for a week also. So we'll have to share our stories on that. Let me know if you need anyone to talk to, it was a depressing time for me. So I hope your doing ok with it. I'll keep you guys in my prayers!

Congrats on your new little one he is sure cute! I hope all is going ok for you guys, glad that you and baby are ok and little Tate made is here.. Man your story sounds so scary... you sure are a sport... well hope Tate is better now and you are all enjoy life the four of you!! Lots of prayers your way... :) xx

Okay I am dying to know the rest of the story! I am glad to hear that all is okay now, I can''t evn imagine the drama!! C-sections are bad enough, not to mention in an emergency situation. He is a cute little thing though, so good job!!!

What a story! I'm glad to hear everyone is doing well! I can't wait to meet Tate. Sorry we missed the blessing yesterday, I was the caretaker of the three sickies in my house! I think they're finally kicking the bug.

If you need anything, let me know! Oh, and by the way...Tyler took the test and passed! :) Now he is meeting with the broker on Friday to get his papers signed and then he can turn them into the state. Shaweet!

When our story began.....

Daddy's girl

Our little charmer

Funny kids

My little baker

The Taterbug

Hello!!

I am very lucky to be a daughter to some pretty amazing parents, a sister to some funny and talented women, a wife to a handsome and fantastic husband, and a mom to two little cuties! I love to cook, eat, sleep and read, and have found a new passion for running and working out, which is nice so it keeps my other hobbies in check :) I also love to change my hair color to liven things up a bit! Jake and I have been married for 8.5 years and we have been blessed with two adorable kids. Abby is 4 years old, and Tate is 20 months old. As cliche as it sounds our kids are the light of our lives and make us laugh every day. Jake works in Sales and I get to be the CEO of the house (it's a pretty glamourous and a much sought after position!) Sometimes life is hard, but we always try to find something to smile about!!